Between Dusk and Dawn
by D.stortion
Summary: Cia is looking for strong and competant allies which is not something all villains offer. What would happen if she stumbled upon TP Link after Midna broke the mirror and left? Could she perhaps bring him to her side by promising him something he thought impossible? Set during Hyrule Warriors, temporary title.
1. Hope

**Just a little scenario idea that popped in my head a few days after finishing Hyrule Warriors' story mode. The chapters won't be very long as I want to focus on my other fic but I'll try to update this one when I can.**

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><p><em>Hope<em>

Feminine hands were waving around a small crystal ball, manipulating and warping the energy inside of the object.

The owner of those hands, a woman with white hair, yet looking no older than twenty, was concentrating on her task.

Her hands stopped moving and her concentration broke away from the crystal ball, her gaze still on the object but looking absent now, as if deep in thought.

Putting a hand under her chin, the woman was thinking about what to do next to prepare her plan perfectly. She wasn't about to mess up something as perfect as her reunion with her beloved and she had to make sure that everything would work correctly.

Right now, things weren't looking particularly good for her. She had been searching for allies to help her in her quest. The little voice in her head, mostly affected by darkness, had given her quite a large number of names of villains that had appeared to confront the Hero through different ages, yet out of all of them, only two to three were worth keeping.

A demonic sword that was looking to revive his master, a battle addicted dragon knight, a powerful wizard monster, and finally the demon king himself.

Even then, she couldn't quite fully trust them as they all had joined her with their own desires and motives. Who knew if they wouldn't try to double cross her, though she could easily dispose of them thanks to her enormous power, she would prefer to not even have to bother with that possibility.

"Ghirahim, Volga, Wizzro, Ganondorf… That's four." Cia muttered. "This twili named Zant could also be useful…" The woman pondered over this option, this particular man looked slightly more… unstable than the other four she had mentioned.

The sorceress' hands slowly moved again around the glass globe with no particular path in mind, Cia still deep in thought.

What she needed was somebody she knew she would be able to put her complete trust in, just like how the Hero trusts the holder of the triforce of wisdom with his life.

Cia's whole body abruptly stopped moving, examining the thought she just had. "Somebody just like the holder of the triforce of Courage?..."

Her hands shifted position, the movements much faster than before as an insane idea came to life inside of the witch's brain.

Perhaps it would be possible to have one of the Hero's reincarnation on her side. But would they truly accept to aid her in her dark quest?

Images of various versions of a man clothed in green spread on the crystal ball, Cia's analytic eyes staring straight into each of their soul.

"That won't do, they're all too pure and righteous…" A hint of disappointment appeared in her voice but just as she was about to give up, she noticed one particular soul that was completely different from the others.

Each reincarnation of the Hero felt fulfilled or content once they got rid of the bearer of Power and even though some might not be as happy as the people they saved, they still had no regrets whatsoever.

But this soul right here had regrets. This soul had fulfilled its purpose of beating the Demon King and yet couldn't even be happy about saving his world.

There was also something else about him, Cia approached her face slightly closer to the glass ball, trying to make out what was inside of the hero. Something ferocious, almost like…

"A beast."

The sorceress' hands stopped moving, the revelation shocking her more than she thought.

This individual was unique and so different from the other reincarnations.

A mad grin spread across Cia's lips. This was her chance to get a strong, trustworthy ally and she would make sure to study him well before she went to meet him.

With a snap of her fingers, the magic ball glowed, showing the boy's past. Cia crossed her arms as Link's entire adventure defiled before her eyes.

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><p>Arbiter's Grounds, the place where everything had ended. The place where he saw the most beautiful woman shed a tear for him.<p>

The place where he had lost her, his best friend and the one he had shared his pain and joy with during his adventure.

A lone young man wearing a green tunic was standing alone in the Mirror Chamber, where a special portal that connected the world of light and the world of twilight had resided three months ago.

Three months ago, that mirror had been completely shattered, breaking the Hero's heart at the same moment as his best friend vanished from existence along it.

Even after all that time, Link's heart was still in pain. Why had she broken that mirror? She didn't have to, they had beaten both Zant and Ganondorf, so why would Midna cut all ties between her and this world, between her and Link? Yes, maybe having both realm interact between each other normally would've been a bit difficult but if they worked hard, him and the other two princesses would have found something to make everything work out just like they always had.

_Why would she leave me?_

This question had haunted Link ever since that incident, his mind unable to comprehend the logic behind Midna's actions.

_Why didn't I stop her?_

He was feeling empty and angry. Angry after himself for not reacting fast enough to stop her nonsense.

She said see you later, but Link knew that there wouldn't be a later. They would never ever be able to meet each other again.

The pain in the boy's heart intensified and the beast inside of it cried out in rage.

This was not fair. He and the little imp had saved both realms from tyrants and destruction and this was how it was going to end?

The man knew that it wasn't right of him to be selfish, but the beast inside of him angrily protested.

Oh yes, heroes needed to be selfless, but he had been selfless enough, he had risked his life and his friend's life enough for the sake of the world. Of both worlds.

This was not fair at all.

The sound of shoes hitting the stones behind him suddenly appeared and Link immediately turned around, unsheathing his sword and shield just like he had been used to during his adventure, his body tensing up. What he found in front of him was a strangely clothed woman with an even stranger mask.

"Bearer of the triforce of Courage, do not be afraid, I am no enemy." Cia started, staring at the man's ferocious blue eyes. "I know what you have been through."

'…_What?'_

Link wasn't sure of how to react to that woman. What was she talking about? Never had he seen somebody like that before…

"I know of your adventure and of the twilight realm. I know about your… bond with that twili as well."

"…How?" Link replied, something he very rarely did, usually when he was very surprised and that was the case right now. Aside from Zelda, nobody should know about Midna.

"I am Cia, the observer of time. I can help you see the Twilight Princess again."


	2. Trust

**Yes there will be some Midna x TP Link teasing. Also gonna have to add a bit to Cia's cannon "backstory", which is pretty lacking in Hyrule Warriors (that is until they release her as a playable character, hopefully she'll get decent stuff other than "link is mine!" frenzy)**

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><p><em>Trust<em>

"I can help you see the Twilight Princess again."

A million of questions were racing through Link's mind. The woman's knowledge on him and Midna alarmed him.

Who was this woman and how did she know so much? What in the world was an observer of time? How did she get there without him noticing? Of course, the most important question was…

Could he really see Midna again?

Link's glare did not leave the sorceress, watching for any suspicious movements and demanding answers.

"You were more talkative and less menacing when you were with that imp… You bearers of Courage all have this bad habit of talking so little, I guess that's part of the hero's charm." Cia started, walking slowly toward said hero which tensed him up even more. "I am no merciful being of course, I have come to strike a deal with you. But first, I shall give you the explanations you so much desire."

"As the Observer, my duty is to make sure that darkness and light are balanced constantly at any point in time, a duty forced on me by the goddesses." She said; hate dripping like venom when she pronounced the word goddesses.

Link didn't move but listened very carefully to each of her words. "Forced?" He asked.

She nodded. "I was originally a mortal like you, I came from a clan of magician and studied at the most prestigious magical school of my country. I was extremely talented to the point where my power grew too strong for the goddesses to ignore. The goddesses decided they wanted me on their side for the sake of "keeping the cycle" intact."

_What cycle?_ Link wasn't sure of exactly what she was talking about but with the tone she had in her voice, he knew what came next wasn't good.

"The catch was that I had to end all of my relations with my current world. I refused. I had a nice life you see, I had a lover, I was happy." Cia lied. There was some truth in it but the man she was talking about hadn't been her lover. Her Link and herself had been very close friends in reality and might have ended up as a couple if it hadn't been for the goddesses intervention to set things "right".

"The man I loved was the Hero of my time, the one that supposedly had the triforce of courage as well. It didn't please the goddesses at all, insisting that his soul was destined for another and… They took everything away from me."

"They took him away from me, just like they did with your travel companion." The witch concluded; a sad tone in her voice.

Link's eyes widened after hearing that last sentence, his grip on the Master Sword tightening. The sword he had not been able to put back to its place after killing Ganondorf as he felt that it would mean that his adventures were over, that his days with the little imp were now the past and that he would be forced to truly realize that she was gone for good. He had hoped that if he kept the sword then one day, the Goddesses would come down and help him get to his friend just like they did help him fight off evil.

But now, this woman was telling her that the divine beings were the cause of Midna's final goodbye? That it wasn't her own decision?

"You're lying." Link accused, it was impossible. They couldn't do this to him or to his best friend! They had been through too much and even killed Ganondorf together, so why, just why would the goddesses take his happiness away?

"They erased my memories as well as my lover's, my family and anyone else that knew me. I simply went on as the Observer of Time, unaware of the brainwashing they had done to me but when I saw his face again… It was like a trigger that gave me my memories back."

This part was true. It had only been a few weeks ago but Cia had truly been forced by the goddesses. She had tried to fight back and even run away but she had been defeated every time. You couldn't hide from them, you couldn't beat them, you couldn't even try to reason them.

And Link couldn't believe her words, it was absurd, absurd that the divinities that he had fought so hard with to defeat evil would act like that.

"I know what you're thinking Link, I can read souls. It's one of the perks of being the Observer." She said, surprising the man. "The reason why the goddesses would go so far is because of the cycle. Every time the bearer of Power comes back, the bearer of Wisdom and Courage are reborn and have to fight together against him. That is the cycle, and for the cycle to work, anything that has even the slightest chance of disrupting it will be rid of, for the sake of Wisdom and Courage being reunited together every single time the cycle repeats."

"Don't tell me…" Link started, his mouth hanging open slightly. He had never considered the possibility before but now…

'_They forced Midna to destroy the only way to the Twilight Realm because she could possibly make the future cycle fail?!'_

Cia nodded. "That is correct, just like they did for my case. They separated me from the bearer of Courage from my time because I had enough power and influence to become a nuisance to the reincarnation process and so could have the Twilight Princess."

Link nearly let his weapon drop from his hand and slowly sat down on the ground, the shock too much for him to bear, as if he had been lied and used like a puppet all of his life. As if his friends had been too.

Everything that the witch had said made perfect sense. Midna's decision to leave, the fact that no matter how hard Zelda had tried for Link's sake, she couldn't find another way to the twilight realm and was also constantly interrupted when she tried to study it. Link thought that it was because she was a ruler and had much more important things to do than that, such as restoring Hyrule but he had found it a bit odd that she had been interrupted specifically when she tried to work on that matter.

But now everything made perfect sense. The Goddesses were behind all of this.

"This has to be some kind of sick and twisted joke!" Link practically roared, the beast inside of him having nearly taken over his mind, furious at the revelation and punched the ground under him, bruising his fist.

"I thought the same thing when I learned of it." Cia said, remembering her anger when she regained her memories. Anger that let darkness slip into her supposedly pure heart. "That is why I have come to you and not another bearer of Courage, because we share the same pain." Cia walked much closer to the man in pain and knelt down. She placed a hand around his bleeding fist and started casting healing magic. "I need your help to break this cycle, Hero of Light."

"…Tell me what I have to do." Link's blue eyes stared at the woman in front of him, his stare had never been colder than now, making Cia nearly shiver at the sight.

Keeping her composure, the witch continued. "Before everything, I need to tell you that we won't be alone on this. For the sake of keeping the balance right, we will have to work with beings of darkness."

The beast's fury calmed down slightly, letting the human part take up his mind once more and though he was just as angry, he still needed to understand what he was getting into. "Explain yourself."

Cia stood up after having fully healed his fist and sighed internally. This was about to become the most difficult part of getting this hero to join her but it was a needed step. If she didn't tell him now then she would lose his trust completely.

"To keep balance, there are three elements required: Light, Darkness and Chaos being the neutral party. Very often, Light is considered as the good one and Darkness as the bad one when in reality they cannot exist without each other. The goddesses' goal is to create a world of pure light, but do you know what this would mean?"

Link didn't move and listened very closely to her, unsure of what would happen in a world where only light exists.

"It means that the light would be so strong that it would burn everything that is not light like a purifying fire. The Demon Realm would be utterly and completely destroyed, any evil intent would be burnt with its owner and only pure hearted beings would be able to live. Do you know how many pure hearted beings there are in this world? I could count them on both of my hands if I wanted to. But more importantly for you…"

"…The Twilight Realm would be completely wiped out." Link completed, having finally understood how important the balance was and remembering the day where Midna had been forced to pure light and nearly died, hadn't it been for Zelda sacrificing herself to save her.

"Along with 99% of the Light Realm." Cia finished.

A part of what she said wasn't true. In reality, the goddesses would spare quite a few with darkness in their heart from the Light Realm and she wasn't even sure if it would even affect the Twilight Realm but what was a good lie without a bit of truth in it?

To Link, what was at stake was too big to be ignored. He couldn't refuse Cia's proposition anymore, not after what he just had heard and not after he knew he would be able to meet Midna again.

"Let us meet again here in three days, be ready by then. Also, do not talk about anything we discussed about without me nearby or the goddesses could hear you. I can make sure they don't hear us with my own spells but you cannot." Cia warned before a portal appeared behind her. And one appeared behind Link. "This portal will bring you back to your house, better than having you go through the entire desert again right?"

Link nodded and once Cia saw his approval, she turned around and walked into the portal, a devilish grin on her face, her mission had been a complete success.

The hero stood there. The last half hour had been full of emotions for him and he had been completely tired out, wanting to go home and back to his bed already.

First things first though, he had somebody he needed to visit, a friend that had helped him a lot after Midna was gone. He needed to talk with Zelda, or at least tell her that he was about to leave for another trip.

And with that, the Hero exited the Arbiter's grounds through the portal, readying himself mentally for the challenges that were to come.

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><p><strong>If some things don't make sense in this chapter just remember that aside from some stuff being my headcannons, Cia lied/ to make sure TP Link would accept to go with her.**


	3. Resolve

**To be clear, and answer one of the review that asked, this fic will have TPLinkxMidna as a couple and NOT TPLinkxCia. Cia might get with HW Link but still unsure about that.**

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><p><em>Resolve<em>

Link stepped out of the portal, looked around to find himself back in the basement of his house, the portal lighting the room around him.

It had been a while since he had used something that teleported him and though this portal wasn't quite the same as the one his imp friend had used during their adventures, he did experience a similar dizziness, it felt very nostalgic to him.

He thought about how he should prepare for what had to come and that maybe he should have asked a bit more details of what exactly would be needed.

Laying on the floor was a large sized bag he had never used before, Midna's ability to store everything he gave to her had come quite handy during their travels to the point where it had become necessary especially when they found items as heavy as the Spinner or the Ball and Chain. Therefore, any bag was utterly useless and thus he threw what was not needed in there, thinking he wouldn't ever need it.

Of course, everything had been lost to him after the Twilight Princess had departed. The hero wasn't sure of what had happened to nearly all of his weapons and armors, only a single item had remained on his belt on that day: one of the Clawshots.

Everything else was with Midna. Had the entirety of his weapons been destroyed? Maybe she kept them with her or perhaps she even just threw everything away.

« I'll have to ask her once we meet again… » He muttered, lifting the empty bag and climbed the ladder. He took a glance at the portal behind him, it didn't move and didn't look like it would until he used it again.

Once he got out of the basement, the hero of light started to wander around the room to see what he'd need, trying to make sure his bag would stay as light as possible.

Food and water? He doubted he'd need any and if he did, he would just hunt like he has done before. Then again, what else could he take? He already had everything on him, from his tunic with a chain mail equipped under to his sword and shield and his clawshot ready on his belt, the man was already good to go.

He had been ready to go on another adventure as soon as his first had ended and it hadn't been just because he wanted something to keep his mind occupied to not think about his best friend leaving his side for eternity but also because the man had learned to love adventuring.

The sights he had seen and the fields he had explored, the battles he had fought and the thrill they had given him, the relief he felt after facing and winning against death itself… It was an unique and addictive experience.

The hero tossed the bag aside, deciding that it could wait until he actually finds something he needs to bring with him later on. For now, he needed to get to Hyrule Castle as soon as he could.

Opening the front door and going outside, Link jumped down before noticing that Epona had been waiting for her master patiently.

Link had not taken her with him for that trip to the Mirror Chamber as he had wanted to be completely alone. Not a very wise decision from the hero of light as it had made the trip much more longer but also because his thoughts ended up making him feeling worse than when Epona wasn't near him.

He wasted no time and after checking that Epona was ready to go herself, he mounted his horse before going at full speed toward Hyrule Castle Town.

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><p>Being recognized as the hero that saved Hyrule saved Link a lot of time to enter the castle. The guards let him in without even a second thought and the hero had free access to nearly every single room of the castle, aside from the royal bedroom for obvious reasons.<p>

Two days after his duel with Ganondorf, Zelda had asked for Link to come so that she could announce him as the champion that defeated the demon king.

Link at first didn't want to come, he honestly didn't care if people knew about him or not and at that time his mind was completely somewhere else. After the princess of Hyrule insisted enough, the hero decided that he might as well do it for her and be done with it as fast as possible. And so, with a fake and sad smile, the Hero had followed the princess to the town.

That's when he appeared in front of all of the citizens he had saved and helped, a few already knew him, some recognized him when they saw him pass the streets running… It ended fairly quickly, Zelda giving him an absurd amount of privileges and him receiving a lot of praises from everybody around him, praises he couldn't hear as the only voice that reached him was his companion's last words repeating over and over in his mind.

Now the man was heading to the royal library where Zelda was currently according to one of the royal guards.

Opening the doors of the library, the hero found himself in a very large room surrounded by an enormous quantity of books.

After walking down the path created by the bookshelves around him and soon enough found the princess of Hyrule, her nose deep in a book. He cleared his throat in hopes it would catch her attention but it failed, the princess too focused on what she was reading to even notice his presence.

« Princess. » Link called out, making the girl jump slightly in surprise, startled by the sudden sound that broke her concentration.

« Oh, Link it's you! I apologize for not noticing you earlier, I was caught in those legends about a kingdom completely downed underwater. I'm sure you're not here to listen to me talk about my books now, are you? Tell me friend, what can I do for you? » Zelda said with a smile, happy to see somebody she could act more naturally with rather than having to act as a proper monarch.

« I need answers. » Link said.

Zelda nodded. Having gotten used to Link's small and blunt sentences, the princess already knew that the hero was troubled by something. « Ask away. »

Link hesitated a few seconds before talking, trying to make sure he wouldn't let any unwanted information slip out of his mouth by mistake. «What would happen if there was no more darkness? »

« That wouldn't be good, darkness and light need to be in balance, neither should overpower another. I'm afraid I don't know the exact consequences about light recovering the world, all I know is that many lives would be lost, just like if darkness completely recovered the world. » The princess explained, wondering why Link needed to know that.

_'__That sorceress was telling the truth.' _He thought, crossing his arms and trying to find what he could ask next. « I assume the Goddesses keep that balance in check? »

« Not exactly, they gave that duty to another being of pure heart they chose, an extremely powerful sorceress called The Observer of Time. Legend says that she watches over the past, present and future all at the same time and notifies the Goddesses if the balance starts to break at a point in time. »

_'__She really is the Observer of Time then…'_ That cleared any doubts the Hero previously had, he was now sure he could trust Cia, at least to an extent. « Thank you Princess. »

« Please Link, call me Zelda. Why the sudden interest in old legends? I'm sure you did not come all the way to my castle to have a history lesson. »

« You're right, I didn't. I came here to tell you that you don't need to bother anymore with trying to find a way to the Twilight Realm without the mirror. »

Zelda raised an eyebrow, confused at Link acting so oddly. « …Why? This is not like you to give up Link. I know I haven't made much progress on the subject but if you give me more time, I might find something. »

« I'm leaving Hyrule. »

The blunt statement surprised Zelda. « Where are you going? »

« I can't tell you where, I don't know for how long either, all I know is that we won't be able to see each other for a moment. »

The look in Link's eyes was not one of a man running away. No, those were the eyes of a man that had found something to fight for again, the flame of the hero was lit up once more.

Zelda could see and as such couldn't object to his decision. For three months she had to endure his fake smile, unable to help him even though she tried to, nothing had managed to bring his real smile back, the one she had seen after they had defeated Ganondorf and had seen that Midna was actually alive.

The princess didn't know what exactly had suddenly motivated the Hero again but she was secretly thankful for it. If he wished to keep his destination secret from her then he must have a good reason as well, she decided that she wouldn't bother him about that.

« When will you leave? » Zelda asked.

« Tomorrow I'll go back to Ordon to say goodbye before moving. »

« Then how about staying here tonight? I believe you and Epona both need some rest before tomorrow. »

Link smiled, knowing better than refusing a favor from the princess as she could become quite persistant. « That would be nice, thank you Zelda. »

« Good, I'll ask a few maids to prepare your room as soon as possible. » Standing up from her seat, Zelda grabbed the book that she had been reading before putting it back in one of the nearby shelves. « Let's go to the dining room, it's almost time to eat. »

Link nodded and followed the Princess, thinking that he should later check the markets to see if he could find some more weapons to bring with him if he had time. For now though, his stomach needed to be filled and he definitely wouldn't refuse an offer for free royal food.

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><p><strong>Got myself a new computer and now I have to get used to another writing program. Oh well it doesn't look very complicated but it still changed a lot of the usual " into the uh arrow version of it. Hoping that doesn't bother any readers here.<strong>


	4. Departure

**I see that many are requesting HW LinkxCia in the reviews and to be honest, I've been thinking about it a lot and I can see it working somewhat. Oh and don't expect Cia to be 100% sane, even if she looks more sympathetic in this story than in others, she was after all corrupted by Ganondorf's essence which is some big stuff.**

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><p><em>Departure<em>

The following morning, Link woke up rather late. With a small yawn, he took a look outside of the window and he judged that it might be close to noon once he saw the position of the sun, high and mighty in the sky, shining down rays of light upon Hyrule.

The hero got out of the oversized guest bed before taking his clothes that had been neatly put on a drawer next to him, they had been cleaned and dried by the royal maids. Link was grateful for it, enjoying that his usual tunic felt like completely new clothes.

After picking his gear up, the hero noticed a sheet of paper on the same drawer. On it was a message by the Princess.

She apologized that she won't be able to see him off on his adventure as she was quite busy with multiple meetings. Reading the last words of the letter, it seems the princess had apparently left some kind of gift in the bedroom he currently was.

He pocketed the sheet of paper before looking over the door and seeing two bows leaning against the wall, one shorter than the other, each having their own quivers filled with arrows.

_'A long bow and a short bow, that's very thoughtful of the Princess. The only problem is that I can't take both with me...'_

In either case, both bows would hinder him and he wouldn't be able to bring either to battle if he took his hylian shield and the Master Sword with him so the hero picked up the larger bow with the right quiver. He doubted he'd end up using it as the Master Sword usually ended up more effective than everything he had used so far but there was no harm in bringing it with him and letting it stay put at a safe place, just in case.

After checking out a bit the new weapon he had, he understood that it was a pretty high quality bow, yet not quite as good as his old one.

Link went out, heading directly to the stables where Epona was supposed to be, he decided that there was no point in going to town to get more weapons as he wouldn't be able to carry anything else at this point.

Upon arriving, he was greeted by a young soldier that was taking care of the hero's horse. After thanking the young soldier, Link mounted Epona and gave a last glance to the castle before riding toward Ordon.

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><p>When Link arrived back to his village, he noticed that there was a woman waiting in front of his house. It was Illia, she had gotten worried as she hadn't been able to find Epona.<p>

The girl saw her friend coming toward her and a look of relief washed upon her once she saw the mare she had been taking care of.

"Link! Epona's with you oh I'm so glad! Next time please tell me when you come back before taking Epona with you."

Link unmounted his horse before giving his steed a pat. "Sorry Illia, I had urgent business to take care of."

Illia crossed her arms. "Like what? Having to meet with the princess of Hyrule?"

"Uh... Actually, yes."

Illia was taken aback, having forgotten that Link wasn't exactly the same person she had grown up with now. "Oh... My bad, I'm still not used to your whole heroic status thing even after so much time has passed after that official announcement. Just make sure to drop a letter at least so I won't have to worry again." She relaxed her stance, thinking about how much her friend had changed ever since monsters had attacked the village.

Illia had honestly thought that everything would've gone back to normal once Link had come back for good to the village. And it nearly did, nearly everything had stayed the same...

Except for Link. Aside from the sudden rise in status and the fact that he had single handedly saved Hyrule, the boy had changed drastically. The naive look he had always given her before was now replaced with one that was cautious and wise, he hunted on his own to eat alone rather than eating with the people from the village, he always looked around him and listened carefully to every sound just in case danger would happen to be close...

Illia had taken a look once at Link when he had been unaware and had found that behind those smiles and kind words was a sad, almost miserable man. He would always look beyond the village whenever the sun started to set and would take a few glances until it was completely night, as if he was waiting for something, or someone, to come to him.

As his friend, the girl had tried to confront him on the subject but there was nothing to do. He had closed the road to his heart to everyone else and it didn't look like he was about to open up anytime soon.

"How was your trip by the way? Did it clear your mind?"

Link nodded. "A bit."

"Does that mean you'll talk to me about why you're not happy now?" She asked, making Link shake his head in answer. "I see... You know Link, one day you'll have to tell me about it, you can't keep this sadness to yourself forever."

Link only smiled and didn't say anything anymore, Illia already knew that this conversation was over.

"Typical Link... Anyway, tonight you should come and eat with us at my dad's house, I'm sure it'll cheer you up."

"Sorry Illia, I don't think I'll come."

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you're going to be all alone today again? I'm not going to-"

Link held his hands up defensively, interrupting the girl. "It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't. I'm leaving Hyrule today."

Illia had her mouth stuck half open in surprise, not expecting her friend to leave the village for a second time. "Wait, why?"

"That's um... a secret royal mission. I can't tell you more than that." Link lied.

Illia stared at her friend for a second, suspicious that he might be hiding something though it did make sense, if he had truly gone to the castle without even telling her about it then for sure, it had to be about an important subject.

And even if it wasn't, what could she do? Stop him? No way that'd work, maybe if he was still the same naive kid as before she could've done so but now he was a completely different man.

"For how long?"

"I don't know, all I know is that it won't be a short trip. Can I ask you to take care of Epona for me while I'm gone?"

"You're not taking her with you?"

"I can't."

Illia sighed in defeat, it didn't look like Link would tell her why he couldn't. "Okay, I'll take care of her. Just promise me you won't get yourself into too much troubles."

Link smiled, happy that he could count on his friend to take care of his precious steed. "I'll try."

They shared a moment of silence before Illia stared at her friend, sad that he had to leave again.

"So, this is when we say goodbye right?" She started, feeling uneasy but trying hard to not show it. "Whatever happens, don't get yourself killed okay?"

Unexpectedly, Link wrapped his arms around Illia before giving her a tight hug, surprising the poor girl with his strength. "I promise." He then released her before smiling softly at her. "I'm off then, see you later, Illia."

"Yeah. Bye Link…"

The girl turned around and started to walk toward the village, leaving Link alone in front of his house.

He entered it before going directly to the basement where the portal was, he wasn't about to wait another day and a half to go, he needed to go now.

'_If my guess is right, if she can truly see the future and the past, then she will know that I'll already be there.' _He thought as he stepped into the portal and appeared in the middle of the Mirror Chamber again. The portal suddenly closed as he heard a voice behind him.

"You were correct but frankly, I would have preferred for you to wait longer before coming here again, it takes me a lot of energy to create those portals."

There she was, the masked woman, floating in the air in a sitting position, her legs crossed as if she was sitting on an invisible chair. Behind her, where the Mirror had previously been was a bigger portal glowing ominously. The witch eyed the bow the man was carrying on his back for a second before speaking again.

"I see that you've gotten yourself a weapon other than the Blade of Evil's Bane, that's good, we'll need that. Let's go then, we have much work to do."

The sorceress stepped into the bigger portal and without hesitation, Link followed her into it. Once he stepped out, the dizziness felt much stronger than before, it took him a full minute before feeling fine again.

In front of him stood a large castle, its walls partially recovered with thorns and its towers impossibly twisted.

"This is our main base of operation." Cia said as she appeared before him. "If you were wondering, those thorns aren't for show, they are part of a protective spell I have put on this place." She moved toward the castle and opened the front doors, revealing a very bland interior compared to the outside.

_'Even if it's a protective spell, I didn't expect that the main base of a supposedly being pure of heart would look like that.'_ Link thought before he looked at the witch he had been following. "What are we going to do here?" He asked.

Cia paused in front of another set of doors. "Planning, mostly. For now though, you're going to meet with those you'll have to work with."

With a push of her staff, the doors opened up, revealing a large and practically empty room save for the 3 beings residing in and a large table in the center with multiple chairs surrounding it. A man clad in red armor with a large spear sitting in a corner, some sort of ghost-like monster with a map in his hands and a strange pale man sitting on one of the chairs, polishing an equally strange looking sword.

While the first two didn't even bother to turn their head, the pale man did and once he saw Link, his stare had gone from uninterested to angered in an instant.

Once their eyes met, the hero of light's animal instincts warned him that this man was in fact no man. He had the same vile smell Ganondorf had, the smell of a demon.

They had just met and yet both already hated each other for what they were.

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><p><strong>I am happy that after doing the extra stages in story mode that have been added a few days ago in Hyrule Warriors for Cia, Volga and Wizzro, there are a few ideas that I had that were quite similar, though there are many things that I will make slightly different, such as how Volga and Wizzro ended up joining Cia or how Volga acts in general and I'm glad that I was right on how Cia should play out as well as a character, the little depth they gave to her with those extra stages was very very nice.<strong>

**On a side note, I'm very surprised at the number of people following this fix, it's above 60 which is way more than the people following my other fic. Glad you're all enjoying it, because I am as well and honestly I can't wait to write the next chapter, it's the part I wanted to write the most.**


	5. Conflict

**Hi again dear readers, it is time for me to answer some reviews here:**

**Akira Elric:**** It seems like many are confused about this. There will be TWO DIFFERENT LINK, the Hyrule Warriors one which I call HW Link in author notes and the Twilight Princess one which I call TP Link. TP Link will be in a romantic relationship with Midna and HW Link MIGHT end up in a relationship with Cia. Does that clear the confusion?**

**Nanya:**** As good as the idea is, Link doesn't consider Cia's party as 'bad'/'dark', which means that he will have the Master Sword and the triforce of courage for himself as his heart is still and will stay pure. He obviously won't immediately use the Master Sword and use another weapon(s) when he interacts with the HW world and will wear another outfit to not stand out. The Triforce of Courage is his very own thing that he can't leave out but a little magic from our favorite witch will keep it hidden nicely. Hopefully what I tell you makes sense, if you got more questions please shoot away!**

**PersonaQeminod1:**** Unless you count Hylian captains/ not super important villagers as OCs then no, there won't be any!**

**Thank you for the reviews everyone, I hope this chapter won't be too short for your liking.**

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><p><em>Conflict<em>

Since the moment she had decided to bring a Link back with her, Cia had prepared herself mentally for this moment in particular.

She had taken care of hiding every single sculptures and portraits of her beloved as it would only scare this Link away, which made one of her ally very happy.

Ghirahim, the pale demon had told her multiple times that she had terrible taste in men and while she honestly couldn't care less about the opinion of a demon, she knew the moment she reached for the Hero of Light that he would be a problem.

And here they were, Link and Ghirahim were already glaring at each other.

The demon stood up from his chair before advancing toward the Hero who kept his eyes on his natural opposite, wary of every of his movements. Link put his long bow next to a wall behind him to free his sword and shield in case he needed to use them.

"Cia, my dear Cia, I had honestly hoped that your condition about loving that foolish hero was getting better, it seems that I was mistaken." The demon started, he had stopped a few feet away from his nemesis and was now slowly walking around him. "To think that I'd see a near perfect copy of that cursed sky child and that cursed blade too… It makes my blood boil in anger."

The witch sighed internally, having foreseen this situation easily she had even prepared to talk the demon out of the situation and if he wouldn't cooperate then she would force him to. Immediately making Ghirahim submit was not good because Link was with them but she didn't really want to talk with someone like him as after all, questioning her taste about the Heroes she loved was something the witch found very infuriating.

For the sake of her plan, she couldn't do much to him, at least not yet.

Cia was about to say something but the Hero of Light spoke up before she did.

"Take one more step and I'll erase your existence, demon." Link coldly said, his tone clearly stating that he wasn't joking around while oddly enough having a very relaxed stance, his weapons sheathed and his arms on both sides of his body.

Cia was very slightly surprised at the hero's intervention, it had been a possibility she had taken into account, albeit it had had a very small chance of happening. She had not expected this to actually happen.

Ghirahim brought the sword he held to his lips before liking the blade with his unusually long tongue. "A step? Shall we test this out then?"

The demon dared to raise his foot forward and put it down, a mocking smile on his face.

Link's expression changed the moment Ghirahim had put his foot down. The demon, looked in the hero's eyes and knew he had made a mistake.

Those eyes were not the eyes of the sky child he had previously met.

Link drew out his sword in an instant and sliced down at his opponent. Ghirahim managed to block the strike with lots of difficulty, to the point that he had to step back.

The hero took his shield out and got into his usual fighting stance, his eyes locked on the demon in front of him.

"Is he important?" Link asked to Cia, obviously meaning if it would matter if he got rid of the demon right now.

The witch smirked, thrilled to be able to witness such a rare sight from so close. A Link fighting so seriously was something she had seen everyday from every angle through her crystal ball, but to see it live gave her a whole new sensation.

This Link in particular… Such a powerful and fearsome aura radiated from him, it made the witch tremble in anticipation. Ah, if only she could have this Link too… that was impossible though as it would go against her plans.

Well, at least this time it wasn't the Princess Zelda that had taken his heart.

_'__Oh right, my plan.'_ Cia dropped her smirk and replaced it with her cold, uncaring face. "Unfortunately for us, he is."

Ghirahim's face was distorted in anger as he pointed his sword toward the swordsman and the witch. "You…! I won't tolerate you mocking me like this, both of you!"

"**Silence!**" Cia suddenly stabbed the tip of her staff on the ground, causing a large shockwave of purple energy to rise from the ground and spread into the room, surprising everyone inside. "**You do remember why you're here Ghirahim, yes? Or would you rather rot at the deepest part of hell just like before?**"

The demon gritted his teeth, knowing full well that it was thanks to the witch that he was standing here as of today. "…Tch." He dematerialized his sword before walking back to his seat, his fists clenched hard in frustration and his hateful stare still locked on the hero clad in green.

From the corner of the room came the sound of clapping, the knight in red armor was slowly clapping his hands together, an amused smile on his face. "As expected of our mistress, shutting up that guy is a feat only you are capable of."

This earned him a death glare from "that guy". "Might I remind you what happened during our last duel practice, Volga?" Ghirahim taunted back, getting a scowl from the proud knight.

Volga decided to ignore Ghirahim entirely, not having enough wits to talk back to the demon. Instead, he walked toward his new interest, the Hero of Light.

"And you… Where did you learn how to execute the Mortal Draw?"

Link's eyes locked on Volga, his sword still in hand just in case he would try anything funny. "…How do you know about the Mortal Draw?" The hero asked, wondering how someone else than him would know about a technique that is supposed to be secret.

The amused smile came back on the half man, half dragon's face. "Answering a question with a question? Should I just beat the real answer out of you?"

"Enough." Cia said, her tone clearly indicating that she was irritated now. "I have not come here with him to watch you three fight meaninglessly. The Hero of Light will join us in our quest, you will have to work with him."

"**I hope this is some sort of terrible joke, my dear Cia.**" Ghirahim growled, feeling like he would vomit if he stayed anywhere near the hero he despised for too long.

"My decision is final, neither you, Volga or Wizzro have a saying in the matter. If we want to be successful, we need him."

Ghirahim's fist smash on the table near him. "…Are you serious?! Why do we need him, in what way will he help us?!"

"The Hero of Light is unbelievably strong, he also has his very own reason for helping us which means that he cannot betray us."

This time, it was Volga's turn to frown, his pride hurt. "Hold on, mistress, are you implying that we're not strong enough by ourselves? I can take on an army by myself."

"As you are now, you cannot win against Link. Nor can Ghirahim."

The demon gritted his teeth harder, angry to hear her talk about him like this. "And what makes YOU think this Link can, or that he won't turn traitorous? Those heroes keep going against demons, there is no reason that he wouldn't ally with your Link and give us even more troubles."

"Oh but there is a reason, isn't that right Hero?" Cia smiled as she turned to Link.

The Hero of Light's face was stoic and his voice was silent. He had many questions he needed to ask but for now he was going to listen carefully to every word they were saying.

After all, Link was still suspicious of the witch, even though those portals she had created were proof that her powers could help him reach his goal, he still felt like something was amiss.

Volga crossed his arms, still not able to believe that the witch would bring one of light here. "What about his strength then? What proof do you have that he could beast our version of the Hero?"

An evil grin spread across Cia's face. "The Hero of Light killed the strongest incarnation of Demon King I have observed so far. The killing blow was so great that the Demon King became the weakest kind of wandering soul."

The room became completely silent and the last, uninterested individual now turned his gaze on the hero clad in green. The demonic wizard approached carefully, making sure to have a nice, large of distance between him and Link. "This guy… did that?"

"Do you wish to see the proof through my crystal ball?"

Volga smirked, a bit of sweat dropping from his face, excited to hear that such a strong fighter was standing right in front of him. "No mistress, your word is enough. If you say that he is that strong then it can only be true." Volga walked to the door behind Cia and Link. "If we are done then I'm taking my leave, it was nice meeting you, swordsman." He said before leaving the room completely.

Ghirahim stood up from his seat and headed for the door as well, casting one last glare at the hero before leaving silently.

Cia, Link and Wizzro were now the only one left in the room.

"Did you do as I told you about our attack plan, Wizzro?" Cia asked.

"Yes mistress, I've already added our… newest ally position in the plan, just as you asked." The monster said as he took the map he had been studying before and gave it to the witch. "For this mission, he will act alone and sneak into the castle after Volga-"

"I'll inform him about the details myself Wizzro, you may take your leave now."

"…Yes mistress." The monster bowed and casted a glance at the hero just before he left.

Once the large door finally closed, the witch walked to the large table and put the map on it.

"Have a seat, I'm sure that you have a lot of questions to ask. If I predicted correctly, your first question should be "What is your goal?", isn't that right?" She said, a playful smile on her lips as she knew she was right.

_'__I don't even need to speak.'_ Link thought as he sat down in front of her and nodded. "It's about time I heard what you're going to do. If you're looking to destroy the goddesses, as much as I hate them for tricking me, you can count on me to fight against you." Link said menacingly.

"Now now, Hero of Light, my goal is far from destroying the goddesses or conquering the world, I will tell you everything about it."

This was it, the moment where Link would decide on the path he would walk, if he was going to help the witch or not. It would all depend on what she was about to say and how she would word it.

Of course, her trump card was the Twilight Princess the hero liked so much and if she gave him absolutely undeniable proof that she could make him see his beloved companion again then that would seal the deal completely.

_'__It is time to "officially" recruit my dear Hero of Light.'_

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><p><strong>Sorry for the long wait my dear readers but as you might know I switch focus between my two main fanfics (you can check on my profile which fic I'm currently focusing on and the progression of the chapter too, with word count and everything!), I'll write two to three more chapters for this fic before switching back to the other one.<strong>

**If there's anything wrong do tell me as I have a bit of a hazy memory on Twilight Princess, Ganondorf's actual strongest incarnation (tho I do believe it's TP I can't completely confirm) and Ghirahim's characterization. I'll eagerly await you guys' critics about my writing if that is the case!**


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